If his rehab has been more than what he thought: “I wasn’t really expecting anything. You get a little injured and you go through the injury process, so it’s part of the game.”

How he hurt his back: “Just a lot of hard work, lot of hard work. Moving stuff, lifting stuff.”

What the toughest part getting acclimated to game speed is: “There’s not really a tough part. It’s just getting back into the flow of things. I wouldn’t really call it tough; it’s just part of it. You just kind of get back into the flow of things.”

Clarifying what he meant by saying he got hurt lifting and if he meant weights: “Just hard work. A lot of hard work. If I told you how I hurt it, that would give the opponent a key on me. Would it not? Well, if you know how you injured it, then you know what part is injured.”

If he wants opponents to avoid knowing how he got injured: “I mean, you don’t know where though.”

Running the ball fully into the end zone even though it was a light practice and if that was just enjoyment about being back: “I’ve been doing that since I was a rookie. That’s just part of my deal.”

What are his realistic expectations for this season and if the Super Bowl is realistic: “You can’t win the Super Bowl in the third preseason game, so it’s like there’s not a point in talking about it. I’ve always been, just like you said, just take it one game at a time. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We don’t even know who’s going to be on the team yet. My expectations are just that, expectations. You can expect whatever you want, but you’ve got to go put the work in.”

If now was a good time to be injured since he was able to get back: “I guess if, yeah, you put it like that, it’s a great time to get injured if you’re going to get injured.”

If this offense has the potential to be one of the best offenses: “We’ve got all the potential in the world. We’ve just got to go execute. I haven’t played with them out on the field yet. Today’s my first practice, so I’m not that big of a part yet. So cross that bridge, but I mean, obviously we have a bunch of talent here and it’s always fun to watch.”

The young running backs and if it takes him back watching them compete for a roster spot: “Yeah, you kind of look at how they do things and how they look at me and how they look at (WR) Andre (Johnson) and how they look at guys in the locker room, and just kind of putting you back in the mindset of you just don’t know. It kind of takes you back.”

His thoughts on the young running backs: “I like them. They’re working hard. They’re young and they’re hungry. They’ve just got to stay focused and they can’t worry about anything else, but themselves. They’re on the team right now, but they’re not on the team. That was the mindset I took when I was undrafted.”

If the young running backs talk to him: “Yeah, I’m the big homie.”

Being profiled in GQ: “About time, man. No, I’m just playing. It was cool. You know, they called and of course I said yes. It was just a nice opportunity, man. Fun people. I had a great time with the photographer and the whole crew there. It was really good. Really good people.”

If that was why he grew his beard: “No, I grew the beard because I didn’t feel like shaving it no more. It’s a hassle.”

If there was a time coming back from his offseason injuries where he faced some mental frustration: “Yeah, you get frustrated. I mean, I wasn’t dying. I still had a smile on my face. You just get a little—‘Well, I’ve got to keep working.’ I’ve still got food and water and a house. Perspective, man. Some people don’t have that.”

How he was frustrated with his offseason injuries in terms of football: “Well, see I don’t look at things in just terms of football though. It’s hard to shake me like that. I came from the bottom.”

What it was like working with the dog in his GQ picture: “Scary. Dogs ain’t really my thing. I got bit in the face when I was a kid. I don’t have anything against them, it’s just I’d rather not.”

What kind of dog bit him when he was a kid: “One with teeth. It was big. It was big.”

If he needs preseason snaps in order to get ready for the regular season: “I don’t know. I really don’t know. I think some people do. Some people don’t. I feel like if I get a sufficient amount of practice carries and get my wind up football-wise, because I’ve been training since March. My wind is fine; it’s just getting that acclimation back to football. I don’t know, man. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Having a little boy: “It balances the hormones out, because I have a little girl and a wife. He really doesn’t do much now, so we’ll see when grows up. Right now, it’s just crying and eating and defecating.”